Woman sexually assaulted by five men in Snowball Lane, South Yarra

Police yesterday released images of men they wanted to speak to in relation to the incident.Source:Supplied

FIVE men have handed themselves into police following the alleged gang rape of a woman in a Melbourne laneway.

A group of men used masking tape to bind the 47-year-old victim’s legs before raping her during the attack in South Yarra in the early hours of Sunday.

Five men — three aged 20 from Bentleigh, a 21-year-old from Dandenong, and a 19-year-old from Bentleigh — were interviewed by police overnight.

They were released pending further inquiries.

It came just hours after sexual crimes squad investigators released security footage of two men they believe could assist with their investigations and they made a public appeal for other witnesses to come forward.

Police would not confirm whether the men who handed themselves in were the same men seen in the footage.

The victim, who remains in hospital, was initially too traumatised to detail the horrifying ordeal.

She has since told police she was approached by two men on Chapel St, near Grosvenor St, and lured into nearby Snowball Lane where she was attacked about 4.15am on Sunday.

Detective Acting Senior Sergeant Michael Phyland said it was too early in the investigation to determine the circumstances surrounding the attack, including whether it was planned and if three other men were waiting in the alley.

But he said all five men involved allegedly raped her before she was able to escape, rip off the tape and run naked to Chapel St to raise the alarm.

“It’s been a very traumatic occurrence for the victim,” he said.

“Obviously police are very concerned about what happened.”

He said the crime appeared to be opportunistic.

It is not known in which direction the men fled, but police have gathered descriptions from the victim and a witness; and scoured CCTV in the area.

They are believed to be all known to each other, he said.

Det Phyland said they were tracking the woman’s movements throughout the night but could confirm she had been in the area alone for several hours and had not been in any bars.

He said she had not been out with friends, and when asked if she was a sex worker, he said he’d rather not comment on her “personal situation”.